Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Thursday said that the recent antitrust remedies imposed against Google, as defined in an order by U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, represent a blow to “West Coast monoculture” present in Silicon Valley.
While Mehta’s order did not include many of the requests by Skrmetti and the dozens of state attorneys general who successfully proved Google committed antitrust violations, including their push for Google to be forced to divest from its Chrome browser and Android operating system, the attorney general said it will result in “real choices” for consumers.
“Google’s illegal monopoly on search hurt consumers and stifled innovation. Google’s search platform went from the brilliant disruptor that buried its competitors to the bloated husk that decayed over their graves,” said Skrmetti. “This led to reduced quality in search and contributed to the abuses of the narrow West Coast monoculture that suppressed conservative views in the 2020 election.”
Skrmetti said attorneys are continuing to review the order, and his office will “work to ensure that consumers enjoy the benefit of meaningful competition in search markets.”
Tennessee was among the coalition of states whose attorney generals successfully obtained a ruling last year which declared Google maintained an unfair monopoly over search engines, with Mehta specifically finding in his ruling that Google violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Google has already stated it intends to appeal the decision, which will see the company forced to make some of its data available to competitors, who must also be allowed access to Google’s advertising network.
The technology company is additionally prohibited from creating or maintaining exclusive contracts related to the distribution of its search engine, browser, or other services.
Skrmetti’s statement came after Google was hit with a nearly $400 million dollar fine by the French government for alleged violations of email users’ privacy.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
